Outlaw Star: Oracion Adventures
by SpaceStationNo5
Summary: Two friends leave their lives of war and crime behind to start anew in the Oracion System. But with a hefty price on both of their heads, the integration won't be easy. And with Gene and his crew arriving into the system not far behind them and in debt above their heads, that may be impossible. T-Rating is subject to change.
1. A Long Traveled Brothership

Yep, it'd be like that. Making the best of what we can make of this situation. Me and my friend going to give space a go after getting it together enough to get our own ride to leave the horrid life we had to leave behind. Hopefully we can get far away enough to where we can grow old and pass through the gates before we have to answer to the bounty on our heads. We might never make it, but we have no choice but to go until we cannot go further.

"Lepi! Budala!"

"Eh eh ye, brate." Lepi, my friend and partner in fleeing this mess groans awake after we drank and played darts until we passed out a few hours ago. Damn Serbian can really pound it down, been like that since I first met him after being assigned to the same unit as him during the Balkan Clashes.

I was one of many who went to Lepi's nation's side as a return favor for their involvement in the Neo-Confederacy Wars in the Northern American continent. Horrible travesties and atrocities scarred that poor Earth when we lived on that planet until our… eh… "forced expulsion" as I would call it. War crimes, inter-system violations, with the worst getting involved with two crime lords and ended up shooting our way out of it. Both of them perished in that soured deal when the Space Forces pinched that place and we had to roar out of the flames guns blazing and rubber burning. MacDougals must've squeaked that out as they were one of the deliverers of the goods to the spot before making a hasty leave. What a pair of snakes those two were. Particularly that blue haired MacDougal, lanky and had eyes of one. Glad I never saw his tongue, might've had a fork to it too.

"We're closing in on the Oracian System Lepi! We made it!" I roared to him with our long ride finally reaching its end at a new place where we can start living a life without making inhumane dealings to live. I look forward to be a simple janitor at some place. Perfectly boring.

"Brate! We're free! Vindicated from our horrible destiny!"

"And now we can go lead average, mundane lives here. Perfectly clear from the Space Ustashe, thug lords, and those MacDougal guys. Parties and drinks on the weekends. Vodka on the rocks!"

"Eh, Lepi… I'd want to too but we need to go integrate in separate towns for the time being..." Me being me and killing a bit of the buzz to the en masse of excitement, "Keep ourselves from being targeted as easily."

"Yes… yes I understand. But we can still visit now and again can we?"

"We will, don't worry. I got a fancy gadget for each of us to stay in touch with. But we have to be careful for a long while."

"Approaching New Canaan Space Port, Oracian IV. God be with you." Our ship's computer chimes with us dashing to the controls and preparing to land. Lepi smiles and begins singing "Pet Stotina Godina" while I guide the ship into the designated lot. Things will be much better for us tired warriors here. We can now sleep with both eyes closed without any worries.

We proceed to the elevator after a bit iffy yet successful landing due to me almost forgetting how to do one of the last steps. Could be due to our excessive drinking hours ago or flying trough space for a long time and only docked when we needed to. I'm still a bit exhausted from the whole journey to here but well awake but Lepi is a bit giddy with excitement and it shows in his mini-gyrations as we go lower down to the main building of the port which through the elevator doors looks of class and sophistication. Various statues of important figures from the many species throughout the traveled star systems decorate the main lobby, seeing almost all of them as we progress to the main kiosk to check in us and our ship.

"Welcome to Oracion IV boys! What brings you here?"

"Dunno, guess we just want to start anew. Check out this place to see if this is it." I respond to the nice lady at the kiosk with Lepi in tow, grinning while we hand over our accurate counterfeit ID's I put together for us long before entering here. After a couple seconds, the lady hands back our cards.

"You two came a long ways from the old world Mr. O'Brien and Niko."

"Yes, it was a very long journey for both me and him. Oh, mind if I ask if there is any job openings for my friend Niko here?"

"Absolutely! A couple miles away to the east is a city named Altair. Your friend Niko can definitely find a job there."

"Perfect. Thank you very much Miss."

"You're welcome. Enjoy your stay on Oracion IV!"

Me and Lepi walk out of the space port with a few tags listing job leads. Lepi takes a moment thumbing through his listings while we wait for our automobile to be unloaded. I just take a moment to enjoy the view and scenery. It's already a lot better than what I faced long before. This place is much cleaner with the people seemingly more friendly and happy than back where me and Lepi are from.

"You're Mr. O'Brien, correct?" A port worker walks up to me and my friend from the freight entrance.

"You are correct feller. You have my car unloaded?"

"Yes, it is quite different. It still uses tires. Haven't seen a car use tires since I was very young." The worker comments as we walk up to my automobile.

"I'm the kind of guy who just can't let something go, regardless if there are better means and options to get about." I reply while signing the obligatory papers and receive my keys to my car, "Well sir, you've been a gentlemen and a scholar. Niko, get in the car."

We roll out of the cargo zone of the space port and navigate our way to the road to Altair which it was a good few miles away. Nothing but rolling grassland for a long ways with Altair visible in the far distance. Lepi whips out his flask from his tattered jacket and takes a few swigs from it. His jackal face grinning out the window as he thumps his hand onto his beat, battered jeans to the tune of the music from the radio. Glancing at the rear view, I see my own eyes, a pair of tired blue eyes under mop water blonde hair. I should really cut my hair before long, I about look like a redneck hippie. Want to get out of my roughed up flannel shirt and broken in jean shorts and get something nicer in their place. Feeling a little thirsty about now.

"Lepi!"

"Oi?"

"Toss me a beer from the back seat."

"On it boss!"

Yeah, that's really good. A refreshing drink to our newfound freedom. Don't know if there's a law against open containers but I don't care. Nothing can stop me and my friend's bright future now and nothing can get in our way. It will be nothing but smooth sailing for us.

"There it is! Altair!"

"Quite a fancy city isn't it?"

"Absolutely! I'm going to see if I can be a dishwasher at one of them fancy restaurants. One's in need of a dishwasher up a block ahead."

We roll through the city up to the restaurant and bar listed on the tab Lepi's holding. We hop out of the car and walk to the back and hand over Lepi's… I mean "Niko's" backpack and treasured violin case out of the trunk of my car. We gave each other a bro hug before parting ways.

"It's been a wonderful friendship, "Niko". Through the fire and flames, nothing can break our bond. Not even distance. I put the communicator in the backpack so you don't lose it."

"I've been very blessed to ever have went through some of my life with you by my side. I don't think I could've evaded death and danger without ya."

"To good years ahead?"

"Dobre godine pred nama."

I watch my friend walk through the front doors of the restaurant as I get back in my car and leave for the job I picked from the tabs. A janitorial job at an unnamed business in the warehouse area. Nothing new to me. Places like strip joints, rave houses, and go-go clubs do this frequently to keep themselves from getting raided by officials. But far better than what I've put myself through as far as employment is concerned. This should be easy by far in comparison. No more shuffling "merchandise" and illegal prostitutes for me.

Driving through Altair reminds me of where I once been before back in the old world. Think it was called Reno if my memory is still correct. I remember once when me and my fellow countrymen were partying during a big New Year's celebration, don't know what happened much after that blissful festival. Guess when the fighting was done in California, everybody went their own way and never saw one another again. Hope they are making it okay, our destruction of the Oroville Dam left us victorious but mournful over the massive loss of life and destruction we caused. Nobody could call it right, just the only way we could bring the western troubles to a wet, devastating end. One man's dream is another man's nightmare.


	2. Go-Gos And Go-Going

"Alrighty, you're hired."

"Thank you very much my newfound boss."

"See you at sunset."

Lickety Split! Nailed my first job on day one at some go-go club in the warehouse district. Can't wait to see this place rockin' and thrustin' tonight while I keep this discotheque squeaky clean. Rich teens and queens will live it up and get all the glory and hangovers while I can watch them with most of my sobriety intact and just smile and wink. Now to rent a hotel so I can wash up for tonight's gig and have a place to stay after this night ends.

I remember the party life I had mostly, it was the only life I had outside of surviving gun fire and explosions for a quite a few years. It was also how I got roped into a career of crime. My old boss back then was having me be a courier of his "fun supplies" to and from his various places and gigs to make up for some incident involving me shooting up his club while dispatching a hit man aiming to take me out. Then later on, he made a deal with the devils MacDougal. "The deal of a lifetime." as he coined it and he wanted me to watch over the transaction as his main competitor wanted to bury the hatchet and unite their reach to create the ultimate adult amusement empire known at that time. Lepi was hired by my boss' competitor and had the same guard role in the deal as I did for mine. Their empire would've possibly reduced Boobies attraction to a glorified fast food chain if the boss' banter was to be believed but I'm starting to detract from what happened that day. The MacDougals were to drop the massive shipment off for my boss' competitor while my boss came with the greens. I knew something was up while that MacDougal ship lifted off hastily a minute before that place became Dante's Inferno. Started off with a couple missiles blowing up the roof and a corner of the building, almost completely collapsing the place within those blows. Most of the men there got killed or wounded where they couldn't escape their industrial grave alive. Those who were still alive and mobile in that firepit shot at one another over the greens to nab for themselves but me and Lepi, battered and tattered, teamed up to take them out and carry as much green as we could hustle out of there alive. With us running out of there and into my car outside, the Space Forces were waiting outside for any survivors and witnessed up making our speedy escape.

I don't know how we made it through, everywhere and up in the air was flashing all kinds of colors and raining hell. I couldn't shoot as I was behind the wheel so Lepi was the sole shooter providing any cover fire out of our asses. Drove that damn car as fast it could go and as hard as I could drive it while Lepi was just doing whatever he could from behind me for the escape seemed endless and we were running out of options and Lepi's gun about to meltdown. We finally found a chance by barging into a large storage complex and flying through single car width hallways and corridors and turning and flipping about in it until we shook enough of them up in there to get them off of our tail so we could think of something milliseconds quick. Hurling almost full speed into the loading bays for cargo trucks, I chose an open slot, locked the wheels up, and slid right into the back of an open box truck. Both of us got out of the car with Lepi staying in the box to shut the truck's cargo door as I ran out to get into the truck cab to hijack and make our escape. It was a total rave of lights heading into the complex through the main entrance so we had to take the back entrance while trying to drive inconspicuously with my adrenaline up into the heavens. After making it a few miles away from that place, I just sobbed for joy simply from surviving that deal-turned-heist all the way into the next city where we were able to unload the car and Lepi could drive for me. All I could do after that was just gaze out of the car window, reflect upon how we even made it out alive, let alone with a memento of that time of our lives filling the back seat.

"Alright sir, your fee for the week's stay will be 500 Wong."

"Here ya go."

"Thank you very much."

"Absolutely."

There comes a day in one's lifetime where that superhero cape falls off your shoulders and gets hung up one last time. From civil war to chauffeuring "hot stuff" for people, I'm pretty well done with the thrills, excitement, and avoiding get a ton of bullet holes in me or getting blasted into the ether-space. I'm ready to become a boring old man since I've had a career in avoiding the grave since my mid-teens with the Neo-Confederate mandatory conscription which was active at the time and I wasn't good for much else it seemed. I really hope I don't have to put that cape back on any time soon at the worst, I want my 30's and the rest of my life to not see any more people I know die and doing ammunition-motivated acrobatics. Only excitement I want is to sometimes go drink with Lepi at a pub someplace and wander back to our places as haphazardly as possible. Now to wash up and get ready for my first day of being a go-go club cleaner.


	3. Lepi's Burden

It's been very hard for me to adjust to this simple life of doing good and getting good in return without any double tricks or labor bartering. A place with a severe lack of corruption will always be too good to be true, even if this place is the new reality I will live in. I'll put forth my best to keep my suspicions in my violin case and give this new life as a simple dishwasher a full heart chance. That is what my blood brother would want me to do even though we cannot see each other for a long while, maybe forever. Until we can reunite under pub lights and over firewater, I must be strong on my own without him and make best of this renewed chance I've been blessed with.

"Niko!"

"Yes-sah."

"It's time to close up for the day."

"I'll go to it."

Closing time means that I need to clean the place so it need be pristine and composed for customers tomorrow early day as per my new boss' instructions. I'm very curious as to be the nightlife here once I'm done cleaning the tables. There has to be something unclean here behind the cheery, clean facade though I maybe just being too self-alienating by what could be heaven. I recently just served dinner to octopus and bird people with being greeted as if I wasn't different at all. I want to get used to this, multiple groups of folks from infinite walks of life getting along together. I need to think that I need to break the conditioning of decades old and start anew. My old ways aren't needed anymore and the fight for survival is no longer necessary. The sun has set on that life one last sunset. The dawn of a new life, a new spring.

With my first day of work behind me, it is time for me to find the nearest convenience store and buy some things for myself before I retire for the night. Odd to walk the streets of peace without fatigues or a rifle. A life's worth of strife will strip you of the senses of serenity. A world full of right even though you think it is or there is wrong. The convenience stores with no jail bars or town guards, the streets with no combatants or tanks, people smiling and waving, I'm the one broken in this beautiful world. I don't deserve such a gift, a breath here. A brave man, broken by overabundant beauty. I really need something to drink.

The choice of alcohol here is incredible. Lot better choices than what I had to choose from before. I'll just pick a couple random middle tier ones and those should be plenty.

"You're very nice to keep helping me Jim, I know Gene's been working hard to keep us going since we came here and keeps getting too tired to help me with trips like these."

"Don't worry about it Mel, we know you need an extra set of hands."

A child helping a woman, what a beautiful sound. I am too soiled to be in a world like this. Though I am curious as who these folk look.

"C'mon Jim, you can do it."

"Sorry Mel, it's just too high up for us."

"Maybe I can help?" I approach the mama bear and her cub kindly and malice without.

"Um… yes mister, can you get that jar of spice up there?" 

"Absolutely." I accept the doe's plea for aid with her voice as beautiful as a swan's song. I grab the up-high jar of spice and hand it down to the little lady and her boy.

"Thank you very much Mister…?"

"Le… Niko. Silly me, it's been a long day for me that I almost used my friend's name." Wow that was close you dumb idiot. Almost screw up you false identity on the first day.

"Thank you very much Mister Niko," the boy congratulates me, "you have a good night now."

"You're a very sweet foreigner." The sweet doe thanks me before they both leave.

"All part of my principle." Budala, you should know better than to screw up your pretend name in a new place. One of them might figure out who you really are. Words go a long way very fast when it comes to foreigners like me self. I better buy my liquor and leave for a motel so I can maybe drink away my mistake without drawing more attention to me. There's such a place a few blocks away thankfully, not a long walk. I better not to do a screw up like that again. It might be the last one I make. While taking swigs as I drink straight from the bottle and walk to a motel, traveling down the street without harassment is an experience completely foreign to me. Seems to myself this is something I can't stop thinking about.

Finally making it inside the door of my motel room with my "Niko" identity, I just slump onto the bed with my belongings next to it and my liquor on the nightstand. Plucking the remote and blinking on the television, I browse through the stations on this planet and see if there is anything interesting on. Lots of peacetime television here but I stumbled upon this silly show that caught my attention. "Big Shot" it is called. Really wished I could get in to that action without the trophy for my head, I'd make all of those bounties within a day. Might have to give it a solid think but that would be mighty nice. A cloaked crusader, delivering justice to restore balance of my own life and the stars around me for the injustice I brought to this existence. But that would be suicide in my current circumstances given to me by myself. I'd screw up and get caught. Never to redeem the iniquity I brought upon. 

Be as this existence is what it is, I've longed to be a hero but always get placed in the villain seat. A hero to exist as a villain. A villain who wants to be a hero. The stars may never let me.


	4. Family and Funds

"Morning Mel! Morning Jim!" I call out to my faithful business partner and my fiancee from the stairs while striding to the big table in the main room where we gather to eat and discuss matters pertaining to us staying afloat.

"Good morning Gene!" My lovely fiancee, Melfina, greets me in return as we seat ourselves together at the dining table. Giving care not to bump her midsection into the edge of the table, preventing our unborn child from any outside rough housing. She's about a week over halfway through her pregnancy with her belly almost showing any obvious sign of her current state of health. Her sleek black hair is longer than it was a year ago with her beautiful glossy eyes and smile stayed the same since we first met. Jim's been a great help to me and Mel over the years, but more-so Mel nowadays since she needed the help to not overstress her delicate frame during her pregnancy. Jim got a growth spurt over the couple years which brought him almost to Melfina's height currently. Guess I can't call him exactly a "little man" anymore. Lately Jim's been looking for any new bounties that may have popped up on this planet but the only lead to a possible one, a thief from Heifong, so he's been tired from all the thumbing through everything on the computer and looking around places for any info when he's not helping Melfina.

Before I start enjoying my meal, I glance around with noticing Suzuka's and Aisha's absence from the table.

"Excuse me Melfina, but have you seen Suzuka and Aisha anywhere?"

"Aisha's still asleep but Suzuka said "She needed to go somewhere." Where could she want to go at such an early time today?" 

"That is weird, but Suzuka always has been mysterious. Hey Jim, you got any idea?"

"Wha…?" Jim lifts his head off his plate with a pair of cooked eggs stuck over his eyes.

"Gotcha." I resume to finish my breakfast while Melfina pecks away at hers looking puzzled.

"Is something wrong Melfina?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's just a new mother thing. Just thinking about where Suzuka went. Kinda worried about her."

"She'll be fine Melfina, she's handled a lot of big challenges on her own and even helped you out of some. I'm confident she will be fine."

"Thank you Gene. You're right, I just worry a bit much still."

"That's not a bad thing. You always work hard to make sure everybody is doing okay. It's what makes you, you."

"And that's why I love you. You know how to take care of me." Melfina gets out of her chair and grabs mine and her's empty plates, giving a kiss on my scarred cheek before walking away to set the dishes into the sink to clean later. She comes back to sit at the table with the group, still thinking about Suzuka. I look around the place for a moment before the front door of our residence opens, revealing Suzuka returning from her early morning errand.

"Suzuka! Where have you been?"

"Easy Gene," Suzuka hushes us while making her slot at the big table with us, "I've been out scouting to see if there were any high priced bounties to relieve yourself from Fred's debt."

"And… were you successful in anyway or did you nab them for yourself?" The fact that Suzuka has been out for so long already has me very suspicious of her findings.

"Oh yes, I found a great one for you." Suzuka reassures that the bounty is still open, "But ask yourself this, are you willing to contain a rogue confederate with a hall of fame prize on his head?"

"A... confederate?" I never known there was persons out there who were still referred to as confederates. I thought that title died millennia ago back in 1865.

"That must've been during your early years of childhood Gene," Suzuka sips her tea before beginning to explain the bounty target she discovered for us, "Earth became vastly divided since you were born. The Americas long ago became a vast hotbed of political segregation and distrust within the population in that place. The division of that place was peaceful at first but the cold separation turned hot. The bounty we are after is one of the living high ranking members who united the non-coastal states and engaged them in a continental-wide conflict with the areas along the coasts, united as the "Neo-Confederacy". Needless to say how he racked such a bounty on himself with a big case of war crimes he committed while being one of the figures in such a devastating ruling."

"Sounds like a real sweetheart." I concur after listening to the fable of Suzuka's discovered bounty.

"After his reign in the Americas, he got himself into a botched deal and miraculously escaped the clutches of the space forces. Taking an international friend of his along for the ride and ended up here somehow."

"His friend must be Lepi." Jim awakes again before Suzuka is done telling me the story of this proposed big bounty.

"Jim, do you know his friend?" I stare at Jim to see if he has anything to add to this.

"Not really until after the fact", Jim warms up his brain before he begins to speak to all of us, "He helped me and Mel get something from the store. Quite a friendly acting man but I didn't expect to find his picture in the top bounty database. His confederate friend has no picture or much for any record to track him so this 'Lepi' guy should be the pipeline to his friend."

"I got it! We capture Lepi somehow or find out who he talks to the most and capture him and Lepi should come to his rescue." I conclude after a brief brainstorm to easily capture these two in one go. "With as much value as they have on themselves, we should give them a top shelf and quick capture."

"You know Gene, that's fairly crafty." Suzuka nods with a quip in agreement. "A comrade in need."

"And that will cut down on our time to capture these two and get us well in the green." Jim smirks and consents to my plan.

"Any of you know where this Lepi guy goes to? Did this contact tell you anything about that Suzuka?"

"He said his most traveled place is a go-go club in the warehouse district. Says he's a janitor."

"Well that settles it! Tonight we go grab ourselves a pair of big sacks of money! We know where to go and who to watch."


	5. Highlights and High Flights

Going to be weird to meet my friend once again after such a while. Oh I hope I don't disappoint you brate and screw up our get together as I've done a time or two before. One really bad blunder I did was telling an unkind joke aloud while full of Rajika to my friend and someone close by overheard my rude comedy. This man was bigly upset over my unclean humor and spouted about if I had a problem with him. I told him with a jaunting snarl to "Go be with an animal since he was one." and the situation went from comedy time to fighty time. I couldn't recall too much after that outside of turning the bar into a battle royale. Hopefully this time this goes over a lot more better but I can't keep my inner quakes under control, I always get too tight strung before a gathering. Got a fancy new track suit to wear to the club, and with a spritz of cologne, I'm ready to go. Best not to forget my violin, don't know when one might need to woo the ladies with one.

Striding down the street to the club with my case by my side and tunes of some go-go beats playing in my ears is much pleasant than running down it with thugs and banditi behind wanting to club me. I'll have nothing but girls and fun ahead of me and the only downside is maybe being a hangover after. After a bit lengthy of a pilgrimage, I make it to the warehouse club and ecstatically approaching the door. The buff dude at the door asks about my case and I just quip back with "Violina". "Alright, go on in. Boss is sure weird with his surprise performance picks." The bouncer lets me on through, entering a little world full of bright lights with many different people dancing together despite all being from different paths in life with music booming hard to get your body moving by force. Gyrating my way to the bar and picking a spot to watch all the girls play around as I enjoy a drink, a busty lady glances at me with a smile and a tease, "Look at that handsome Jackal."

"Srpski Sakal" I crack back playfully with a smirk on my face before I sit down and spin on the stool. The bartender sees me and I ask for a drink of vodka and soda water. "Funny choice." The bartender comments before pouring me the drink and sliding it down to me. Tapping my hands to the rhythm and the pulses and getting a good feeling being halfway into my drink.

"Hey, I didn't know my boss let wild dogs in his rapturous establishment."

"Now that-" I quickly turn to the voice and it's no other than my brate clothed in a club security outfit. "Is very funny!"

"Yeah, I got my position changed over to security. My boss accidentally saw me quicky disable a rude patron who was about to cause a fight. Oh well." My long time friend chats along and keeping his cover well. "Things are still looking up well for ole Ian here nonetheless. Hey 'tender, a glass of water please."

"On it!" The bartender pours a glass with bulky ice cubes and slides it over to "Ian" who plucks it and sips a portion of it.

"So how's your new life, Niko? Anything exciting?"

"Not really brate, just work in the back of the restaurant until my shift is over and take it easy at the inn." I reply following with finishing my drink, "I want to get used to this blissful peace but sometimes I just can't let go of the past. It keeps coming in and ruining the pleasant illusion."

"Well I wouldn't worry about that Niko because I just saw something big." Ian glances through the waves of partygoers and go-go dancers.

"Brate, is someone onto us?" I ask worryingly to Ian.

"Not sure to confirm, but I did see somebody of great concern." Ian locks onto a red haired man walking into the club then turns to me. "Gene Starwind is in the club. Just stay cool and incognito, you and me will be fine."

"You think he knows about us?"

"I know I have no image in the databases, don't know about yourself." Ian keeps a watch on the red scalped outlaw. "He's walking toward the bar. Just order another drink and stay on the opposite of me from him. Stay chill."

"Bartender, another one!" I speak to the bartender and slides a duplicate drink of my first one. I take one sip and glance over quickly to see Starwind in the flesh, ordering a screwdriver. Bartender shifts one over to him and takes a good swig. I look away and continue to drink with my heart racing with nervousness of being close to getting caught by Mr. Gene. I begin hearing Gene talking with Ian, just small talk for a minute or so before the conversation shifts.

"So I've gotten wind that you have a frequent patron who so happens to be a diamond price bounty." Gene asks Ian with a hint of bravado, "Want to make a really big tip?"

"Normally I don't help outlaws out while I'm at work, but you got a picture of this dude? May jog the noggin." Ian responds to Gene with Gene showing a picture or something, I'm only able to see a vague object from the glass reflection, "Think so, guy's pretty eclectic and funny. Think I seen him trying to woo the go-go ladies on the other side of the dance floor. Won't guarantee it but I'm pretty sure."

"Thank you for helping an outlaw out." Gene smirks and walks through the big crowd of dancers. Ian nudges me on the side.

"Finished with your drink, Niko?"

"Yes." I respond jitterily.

"Leave now. I just gave ya a platinum hall pass. I'll pay for your drinks. It's good seeing you again."

I pick up my violin case and made a dancing stride to the exit to blend in best I can, leaving the blasting music and vivid lights for the monotone and quiet streets as I further along my nightly evasion. I stride along with my heart pounding as fast as the club's beats were going. Made it a couple miles north until finding a bus stop to sit down at and recollect myself. I was very close to getting caught or getting killed by that formidable Starwind. Oh so so so close. Now what am I going to do? I can't get Ian's help as it will compromise his more thickened veil and make us an even bigger target if we go it togerther.

"Mind if I sit here mister?" I look over and it's that blonde haired boy who I helped with that very nice girl in the store the other day.

"Yes you can." I approve of the boy's request, "You must be Jim, correct."

"You remember pretty well Niko." Jim responds with a smile. "Why are you out here alone?"

"I beg to ask the same, want to rock, paper, scissors over who answers first?"

"Game on, Niko."

Me and Jim get our hands ready to duel it out, we shake our fists and Jim beats me with a scissors while I went with paper. I chuckle a bit at that luck.

"Guess I must go first. Just got done visiting a long time friend I haven't seen in a very long time and now I am on my way home, just pulled a seat here to take a break. Now you go."

"My adoptive mom as one could call her, needs me to do a late night errand real quick."

"I'm really sorry about you not being with your real mom. My mom is many light years away, pretty much have to take care of myself. Her cooking was excellent."

"It's okay, really. She really takes care of me and my friend. She is absolutely a wonderful lady."

"She sure looks the part." I glance over at Jim's hands and see he is typing on some sort of device, I see the screen and can make out, "I'm here talking with Lepi, waiting for ya." Oh no. Oh no. It's all I can think right now, this is really a very difficult position. Jim knows who I am and his "friend" must be Starwind. Pretty much already out of options but I must do something fast, there's only one option left I can do that is possible.

"Jim, have you been hurt badly before?"

"Yeah, but my mom can heal me up well. Why do you ask?" Jim looks at me very nervously.

"Ustashe!" I rapidly unholster my handgun from within my track suit and shoot Jim in a spot on his left thigh that wouldn't be likely to take any serious operation to patch and heal up. I flee as fast as I can run going further north after committing a massive atrocity by shooting a child to evade capture. I can hear Jim yelling and a couple lights turn on behind me while I sprint with all of my might. Will I ever break this cycle? Will I ever actually be free from doing and performing horrible things to the innocent not knowing they are in the cross fire? I just don't know anymore. I just don't know...


	6. A Clean Seize

Couldn't sleep well but did get in six hours after such a vivid night. Making sure no one came after me in the night. But as my friend told me, "Bad things always happen on a sunny day". I really didn't want to shoot or harm a child that night, there's already much of it spilled upon my beaten hands ever since the rain of the veal. The rain never ceased since that sunny day in a village oh so long ago.

"Lepi! Time for initiation!" Was my commander's words after we shared a bottle of home made rajika. "Get your rifle."

I grabbed my "violina", as was the name of the rifle since our family always stored it in a violin case back at the ancestral cottage, and followed my leader outside to the back of the little store turned into a makeshift pub.

"Lepi. Brave young jackal. Strong fighter for our salvation. Such a bold, teenaged warrior almost too good to be with us in our divine quest." My commander talks me up which I deserve none of it but doing it to coerce me into doing what may await me. And back there stood a crowd of my fellow marauders with smug smiles of various teeth count roughing up some small sized person. Getting into the center of the group was a child who one of the boys claimed it tried to kill one of my group earlier, the child was almost slain to such barbarism from being caught. The group noticed me entering the gathering and started shouting my name while all pin the kid down to the ground. Didn't take me long at all to figure how I was going to be initiated.

"You will do this Lepi. I know you will. This animal tried to kill one of us. I'm sure you know what that means!" My commander roared to the whole pack and I was the main attraction. Every man there was cheering, chanting my name, and attentive to every moment and movement I made. Holding my rifle and aligning my sights to the child's bashed up face, I made a call for guidance in my mind before I struck my mechanical gavel upon the child. "Saint Sava... save me..."

Three gavel strikes freed the tortured youth to the afterlife from this horrid realm, causing everyone to shift into a brutish uproar from such a splashing of ketchup all warring tribals lust after. All of the men patted me on the back for committing such inhumanity and giving such praise upon my deed. My commander hugged me and ruffled my hair to show me that I was one with this human wolf pack who spared no one and gave no consideration of age given to any who crossed us in a land full of atrocity and apathy. All of which I will forever live with until I meet my own final sing of the violin. I am without any escape from my fate despite any person without a real strife or struggle claiming there is no predetermined destiny to our lives. We will suffer at the hands of our own destinies because it is predetermined to be so. I only may hope my destiny is met as I made those at my own hands.

I better wash myself up before I leave here and flee to wherever I may go next. I left my "violina" next to my shower with a full load in to ready it for any surprises while I enjoy my possibly last personal cleansing. Wished cleaning myself to go be a bounty hunter was this easy though crimes against man never will leave a mortal man even if they cease to exist. I leave my brief washup with a bit of soap in one eye and reach for my "violina" but it is missing from its spot where I have placed it.

"So I hear you like shooting kids." A stern voice from outside the bathroom door way in the main room quips. Feeling my battered heart go from unrelaxed to very tense in a millisecond from the escalation of my circumstances. I know who is here and he is here because of not only my bounty, I also shot his friend which did not undo any of the escalation to where I am at now.

"I know you have nothing Lepi. Best to surrender yourself now. Normally I'd kill any other bounty who has or tried to shoot my friend, but you are a special one and I really need the money on your head."

"I know Mr. Starwind." Gritting my teeth in having to give myself up so soon into my freedom while walking into the master room, "But why did you pick me first?"

"You did shoot my best friend." Mr. Starwind begins to explain while pointing my own violina at me, "And for any who harm my friends, with or without lethal intent, are going to pay greatly in harming them. Be fortunate you are worth a lot more alive."

"And so?" I quip in return to his words while I sit across the room from Mr. Starwind with a towel to cover my indecency.

"You can lead us to your friend and gain me even more."

"And how do you think I can?"

"You will you filthy Slavic jackal. You already have a lot in debt to me for shooting Jim."

"And why did you bring a child in our affairs Mr. Starwind?"

"Jim chose to since he has seen you in person and honestly, I didn't expect you to play such a filthy move after moving here and wanting to clear yourself. Oh, and one more thing, you better not resist your capture or I will make this much more difficult for you. No matter what you do, I will get my way."

"What can I do Mr. Starwind? Your deal is the only one available to me at this moment so I have no other way than to say 'yes'."

"Very good idea Lepi."


End file.
